Join us for our kick-off event!  Introduction to monthly, Digital Skills Workshops, register for StrongBodies a 10-week exercise class for older adults, and learn how to access virtual, continuing education classes all year long.  Thursday, August 6th starting at 2:00 pm at the Union Town Hall at 905 County Highway DK, Brussels.  

Training to increase strength, muscle mass, bone density, balance and flexibility.  Reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, and arthritis.  A new class will begin on September 15th running through November 24, 2026, at the ADRC from 8:30 am - 9:30 am.  (No class on November 12).  Class limited to 26 participants.  Registration closes when class limit is reached.  Registration and Information

We are now offering StrongBodies at the Union Town Hall at 905 County Highway DK in Brussels.  Classes will run September 8 - November 12, Tuesday and Thursday, from 1:00 pm until 2:15 pm.  Get moving and stay healthy designed for older (65+) adults.  Register Here   Suggested class fee $30.

A Wise Wisconsin Program.  At UW-Extension, we know that being “well” is more than eating healthy and getting exercise. In fact, wellness is often categorized into several interconnected dimensions. Join us to learn more about the dimensions of wellness. 8 Dimensions of Wellness:  Emotional Wellness, Social Wellness, Environmental Wellness, Physical Wellness, Occupational Wellness, Spiritual Wellness, Intellectual Wellness, and Financial Wellness.  Video

From smartphones to artificial intelligence, our ability to utilize technology increasingly impacts our access to vital information, resources, and social connection. This workshop series features an instructional curriculum designed to provide participants with a confident understanding of digital devices, best practices for safe and effective internet use, and how to responsibly interact with others online. The series will also invite guest speakers to demonstrate how technology connects Door County residents to essential services and community organizations. Each workshop will conclude with a group Q&A session, allowing participants to introduce and work through solutions to individual, technological challenges. Collectively, the series aims to improve digital skills, address relevant topics, and optimize the use of technology in Door County. All workshops are free of charge. 

Offered in 3 locations - Registration

NWTC Learning and Innovation Center, 2438 South Bayshore Drive, Sister Bay, Every First Monday of the Month, 11:00 am-12:30 pm

ADRC of Door County, 914 North 14th Avenue, Sturgeon Bay, Every First Tuesday of the Month, 11:00 am-12:30 pm

Union Town Hall, 905 County Highway DK, Brussels, Every first Wednesday of the Month, 11:00 am-12:30 pm

Arts Camp 2026 will be held October 2-4 at Upham Woods. Arts Camp is a program for middle schoolers wanting to explore the expressive arts in a weekend camp program. Theater, dance, visual arts, culinary arts, nature arts and music are just a sample of some of the past arts-based tracks. Along with the arts-based curriculum, youth participate in a traditional 4-H campfire, makerspace, and the always popular, counselor hunt. Open to all 4-Hers in grades 6-8. Registration will be open from August 1 to August 31 or until the program reaches its capacity (80 campers). Campers arrive Saturday morning and are finished by 11:00 AM on Sunday.   All questions can be directed to Jay Johnson, Expressive Arts Specialist, jay.johnson2@wisc.edu.

All military-connected families are invited to join us for an afternoon of fun as we kick off the new school year together!

Saturday, August 22, 2026, 12:30-4:00 pm at the STEM Innovation Center (2019 Technology Way, Green Bay)

Bring the whole family and enjoy hands-on STEM activities, interactive cooking classes, creative family crafts, and festival-style fun for all ages.  Hosted by the WI Army National Guard Child & Youth Program, Wisconsin 4-H, and the USO, this event is open to families connected to ALL branches of the military.  Free - Registration Required 

We look forward to celebrating together with you at the 175th Wisconsin State Fair, August 6 – 16, 2026!  Wisconsin State Fair

The 2026 Door County Fair will be Wednesday, August 12th - Sunday, August 16th.

Check out our website for the latest 4-H newsletter, events and opportunities.  

Safe grilling requires more than heat. Use a food thermometer to ensure
meats reach their proper internal temperatures: 160°F for ground beef and 165°F for poultry.  Avoid placing cooked food on plates that have held raw meat. For grilling safety questions, visit Wisconsin AnswerLine or call 1-866-540-4636.

Nutrient-dense foods are rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients important to our health. They also don’t have too much saturated fat, added sugars and/or sodium. Nutrient density is the amount of nutrients you get for the calories consumed. Research suggests that the standard American diet is energy-rich and nutrient-poor. When we say energy, we mean calories. And “empty calories” are in foods that provide a lot of calories without much nutritional value.  Next Step!

Find reliable information on canning, freezing, and drying foods at home using methods tested for safety and quality.  Learn more...

UW Health dermatologist Dr. Lisa Arkin is urging people to protect their skin this summer, warning that sun exposure is the No. 1 risk factor for skin cancer.  Article and Video

Xudong Wang, a UW professor of materials science and engineering and an expert in creating thin, movement-powered medical devices took on the challenge of healing bones faster with electrostimulation. The thin, flexible device he created is self-powered, implantable, and bioresorbable, so once the bone is knitted back together, the components dissolve within the body.  Find out more in this OnWisconsin article by Jason Daley.

Wagner Farms, Oconto Falls, WI, was the first farm to incorporate a hybrid positive pressure ventilation (PPV) system in their barns. The hybrid PPV combines mechanical ventilation fans that push air into the barn with exhaust systems that help remove stale air. This design at Wagners ensures that each fan brings a consistent flow of fresh, clean air to every four cows, improving air quality year-round. Video

For many dairy farmers, the decision to switch to Automatic Milking Systems (AMS), or “milking robots,” is driven by a single, pressing reality: labor is hard to find and is getting more expensive.

However, trading human labor for capital investment is not a simple swap. While robots reduce the physical demand of milking, they introduce new costs—maintenance contracts, electricity, facility retrofits—and change the farm’s revenue structure through potential shifts in milk yield and feed costs.

To help producers navigate this complex financial decision, the Dairy Management program at UW-Madison has released the AMS Transition Budgeter. This web-based tool allows farmers to move beyond “back-of-the-napkin” math and visualize the long-term financial impact of retrofitting their farm for robotics.  Budgeting Tool Article

Biosecurity:  UW–Madison Extension Educators invite you to participate in a short survey. We are conducting research to better understand what dairy and livestock producers currently know about biosecurity, as well as how and what they would like to learn moving forward.  The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Your responses will remain anonymous, and no identifying information will be linked to your answers.  Survey

Cost of Raising Heifers:  Raising dairy calves and replacement heifers is a major expense for Wisconsin dairies; tracking these costs and benchmarking against peers supports better management decisions. Periodically, Wisconsin Extension Educators have collected farm level data to track these costs. Extension is currently seeking this information and needs your help. Survey

Join us for a High-Oleic Soybean Field Day on August 25th. This field day will focus on practical information for dairy farms interested in incorporating high-oleic soybeans into their feeding programs. The day will begin with educational presentations and lunch at the Brillion Nature Center. In the afternoon, participants will visit Woldt Farms for hands-on learning activities.

Topics for the Day:  background of high-oleic soybeans, growing and agronomic considerations, handling and identity preservation, economics and best practices for roasting and processing, and Q&A.  Register 

3rd Tuesday of the month 11 am - 12 pm

Topic:  Setting Transition Cows Up for Success

Registration

2nd & 4th Thursday at 12:30 pm

Topics:  Crops, Pests, Soil, Water and Nutrient Management Research, Tips and Tools

Registration

All hay prices quoted are dollars per ton FOB point of origin for alfalfa hay unless otherwise noted. The information presented in this report is compiled from public and private quality tested sales and reports in the Midwest. View Market Report

Join DATCP, NRCS, UW-Extension, and the SnapPlus team for a day of nutrient management updates and planning guidance.  Meetings will run from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., followed by an optional SnapPlus V3 training from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Registration is free.  For those planning to attend the SnapPlus V3 training, please bring a laptop.  Meetings will be held in Jefferson, Wausau, Appleton (September 2), Eau Claire, and Dodgeville.  Information and Registration

Sign up for the Bick Lab’s collaborative insect pest text alert service with Extension and WI DATCP to find out what insect pests are emerging and active in fields near you.  Sign Up

Midwest Farm Report:  Chris Clark, a soil and nutrient management outreach specialist with the Division of Extension, tells Stephanie Hoff about her latest research looking into the micronutrients in manure. She explains that due to EPA air quality improvements, sulfur contributions from acid rain have dropped from 10 pounds per year to less than one pound. Long-term data comparison shows that while several nutrients were tracked, boron and sulfur are the two showing the most significant downward trends in manure. While farmers focus on N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), this research highlights the importance of secondary nutrients like calcium and magnesium, and micronutrients like copper, zinc, and manganese. Many agronomists have already begun instinctively supplementing sulfur between hay cuttings because they noticed deficiencies in plant tissue and soil analyses years ago.  7-Minute Video

Want to be a better gardener? Whether you're new to gardening or looking to deepen your skill set, Growing and Caring for Plants in Wisconsin: Foundations in Gardening is the course for you. This online, self-paced course teaches practical gardening skills along with easy-to-understand explanations behind why and how they work. 

Foundations in Gardening runs Sept. 6-Dec. 12, 2026. Register before Aug. 9 to receive an Early Bird registration discount. Regular registration runs Aug. 10-24. A limited number of need-based scholarships will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more about the Foundations in Gardening course.

Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) is a non-native annual grass that poses a significant threat to Wisconsin’s ecosystems. It grows in branching, sprawling mats in forests, streams, trails, ditches, and even lawns. In the eastern and southern US, including Illinois, it’s widespread and negatively impacting forests.  Found in Wisconsin in 2025.  Learn more...

Flowers, grasses, and sedges are great additions to your gardens and home landscape to intercept and control dirty water, store and cycle carbon, promote healthy soil, shelter and feed wildlife, and provide pollinator support. Over time, we have learned that many plants introduced into our gardens can negatively impact native species by spreading into natural areas.  Learn more...

Here in Wisconsin, crops such as apple, cranberry, cherry, green beans, cucumbers and other fruits and vegetables, plus honey and beeswax depend on pollinators. But pollinators in Wisconsin and around the world are facing population declines for many reasons.

In this article you will find resources to help you identify pollinators, create pollinator-friendly habitats, and reduce or eliminate environmental contamination from pesticides.  Article

Join Brian Hudelson (of the PDDC and affectionately known as “Dr. Death”) to learn about common diseases of hostas.  This presentation will include information on how to identify these diseases, as well as information on how to manage them.  Free webinar on August 26, 2026, from 6:30-8:30 pm. Information and registration.

Exposure to environmental contaminants during the early stages of fish development may lead to health effects later on. Professor Tisha King-Heiden’s lab uses a series of tests to evaluate whether the nervous systems of baby fish exposed to PFAS develop normally.  Learn more...

UW–Madison Division of Extension’s Water Action Volunteers program engages community members statewide in monitoring stream health. With equipment, training and protocols from the WAV program, volunteers collect and share critical water quality data with partners like the Department of Natural Resources, helping protect Wisconsin’s waterways through local stewardship.  Learn more...

Redeveloped idle industrial, institutional, and commercial sites can again become generators for economic development and an improved quality of life for the cities and communities where they are located. WEDC’s Idle Sites Redevelopment Program helps communities pursue this opportunity.  Get Started...

Strong board leadership doesn’t just happen—it’s intentionally developed. We’re excited to introduce Board Ready: A Training Series for New Co-op Directors—a revamped cooperative director training program, now expanded into a five‑part series delivered fully online. This updated format makes it easier than ever for directors from every cooperative sector to participate, learn, and grow.  Training starts September 15th.

UW Alumni Matthew Becker ’96 runs one of the world’s largest carnivore conservation projects, protecting big cats, African dogs, and other endangered species.

The Luangwa River Valley in eastern Zambia stretches more than 430 miles and encompasses floodplains, miombo woodlands, and oxbow lagoons. It’s home to one of Africa’s largest lion populations, along with elephants, hippos, giraffes and blue wildebeests. Four national parks and the adjacent game-management areas within the valley connect a massive, unfenced region that’s around eight times the size of Yellowstone National Park.  For 17 years, Matthew Becker has called the Luangwa Valley home.  Full Story

Summer Office Hours:  Open - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:00 am - 2:00 pm (Memorial Day through Labor Day)

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.